Trailer

Review

How to enjoy this movie if you're a fan of the HP Books

3/10 Last night I had gone to the midnight showing of the movie. This morning I wrote a review (below) b/c I wanted to express how disappointed I was. However, I still had tickets to go see it this afternoon. I certainly did not want to sit there for another 2 hours hating it so I had to find a way to like it. I really, really wanted to like this movie. I love HP, afterall! I decided to try another approach, to watch the movie without thinking of the book at all. And I'll be da*ned if it didn't work! I realized that I had spent so much time picking apart what the movie DID NOT have, that I never allowed myself to enjoy what it DID have. Once I did that, and accepted that this movie is merely "based on" the book, I was able to enjoy it! Suddenly, the love story did not seem to dominate as much as it did on my first viewing.....Honestly, I never really thought that changing the way I approached the movie would work, but it did. So, if your a really big fan of the books and cd's, and you really want to find some way to enjoy this movie, I suggest you leave all the knowledge you have of the books at home, sit back, and watch!

I started reading reviews last week, so I was aware that all the really good stuff in the book wasn't going to be in the movie. Still I was excited and stood in line for almost 3 hours to see this movie. When I left I felt very, very disappointed. I couldn't believe what I watched, this was a joke, right? Sure that other Harry Potter fans felt the same way, I started to read the fan reviews. Now I'm wondering....did I miss something? How is it this movie is getting such rave reviews?? Did anyone not notice all the plot moments that were changed or left out completely?

SPOILERS************************************************

I so wanted to see Dumbledore give the Dursley's their due. And how about Harry and Dumbldore going on the journey to view the Marvolos and Voldomorts father? And lets not even talk about the best part of the book, the fight at the castle. I read somewhere that the director did not want to do the fight because of the fight in book 7. I mean really, come on, that's probably the lamest excuse I've ever heard. Ya know, I never even shed a bloody tear when they killed Dumbledore. There was no emotional work up to it, in my opinion, it was really weak. When I read the book, I cried for days! Well, maybe that's why I did not during the movie....I already mourned him :-) I knew their had to be a lot of things that did not make it in the movie, I just assumed it would be the teenage love angst. Especially given the action films this movie is competing against.

But then again, it's getting great reviews, so I think I'm part of the minority of people who were really, really hoping to get a Harry Potter movie that would make JK Rowling proud, at least when she cared.

The movie was funny, absolutely. But that's all it was, except for the last 30 minutes. The last 30 minutes, like the 5th movie, is the best part, IMO. But, that's not saying much.

2 years ago

To say I was disappointed is an understatement, Half Blood Prince is among the weakest in the series.

1/10 SPOILERS AHEAD

The beginning of the Half Blood Prince starts with the Death Eaters attacking London and destroying everything in sight. After a great opening, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine return for their sixth year at Hogwarts and then, nothing.... We get two slow hours of Ron's potion making, and teenage angst, with little mention of Tom Riddle's memories, or Harry and Dumbledore's hunt for his horcruxes.

The Weasley's house is burned, and then instead of the DD funeral, they change the ending. Harry just stars under the floor, while Snape kills Dumbledore. Harry cries, and the students all wave their wands at the sky to erase the dark marks. Then Harry, Ron and Hermoine leave Hogwarts.

Too many things cut out, too little action, too much fluff, and, at the end, I didn't care whether or not there was a DD funeral. Definitely the weakest film yet, too many things taken out, and too many silly things put back in. Too little Tom Riddle also. The movie was just plain AWFUL!

If David Yates screws up Deathly Hollows half as badly as he screwed up Order of the Phoenix, and Half Blood Prince, then he will be the one to blame for taking the Potter series seriously downhill. It was the first time I have seen an audience actually fall asleep during a Harry Potter movie and after the ending, only two people clapped. There were a lot of very disappointed people after the movie ended. I have never heard the statement "I want my money back" from a Harry Potter movie until now. Consider me highly disappointed in that this is by far the weakest film of the series, and that's saying something after the extremely dull Order of the Phoenix. David Yates is bad luck for the Potter films.

2 years ago

Worst Interpretation EVER

1/10 This segment of HP will disappoint all who read the novel. The Burrow burns down during x-mas break due to Bellatrix and Fenrir (who is never described as a werewolf) perhaps for the lack of action at the end of the movie...the Dursleys are completely cut from the movie, meaning when Dumbledore picks Harry up for the summer it's at the train station for some apparent reason...The Ginny/Dean/Harry dichotomy is skewed, there was no break up between Ginny and Dean and Harry is clearly in love with her from the start of the movie which eliminates his confusion on his feelings during the school year...Hermoine prematurely spills the beans on her feelings for Ron which was only speculation in the novels...Lavender Brown becomes a obsessive and crazed girlfriend rather than simply over-affectionate (a reminiscent Unis from She's the Man)...the battle scene is missing from the end giving Dumbledore's death an anticlimactic feel making it all the more unemotional and disappointing...Harry hides under the floor simply holding his wand looking like a coward while Dumbledore dies, Snape sees him hiding rather than Harry being frozen under his cloak compliments of Dumbledore ...There is no funeral or break up with Ginny at the end of it (there is no relationship between the two either simply a kiss)...Hagrid is basically deleted from the movie as is Neville...Pensive trips are deleted and the Horocruxes are never explained, not even slightly...Luna finds Harry on the Hogwarts Express rather than Tonks...The Slug Club simply makes a cameo rather than a proper introduction and explanation...the Inferi look more like skeletons compared to the white bodies described in the book...I'm sure more discrepancies are present, however I can only remember so many of them.

It is absolutely a horrible interpretation of the book and I hope that they look at all of the mistakes and gaps left for the next movie and fill them in with more than humor (they are supposed to be in the middle of an all out war aren't they?) I mean I didn't even feel emotional when Dumbledore was killed, I was too busy trying to figure out why Harry was acting like a stunned coward under the floor boards and not doing something, isn't that his thing...doing seemingly impossible rescue missions?!?!

I am utterly disappointed in this installment of HP!!

2 years ago

The Best Book...The Worst Movie!

4/10 As an avid Harry Potter fan who has read the books multiple times and of course seen the movies repeatedly, I was extremely excited to see this movie at the midnight showing. Half-Blood Prince is my favorite book and other than 7, the darkest book in the series.

That being said, I was so disgusted with this movie. Yates & company literally turned it into Harry Potter comedy hour. I'm not sure how anyone thought this movie was amazingly dark when the theater was cracking up laughing the entire time at trite jokes. The only thing that should have been funny in this entire movie was Lavender & Won Won's obsession w/ each other.

The movie emphasized the unrequited love/snogging/Ron & Lavender romance over the major plot line which was learning about Tom Riddle's background. With the exception of Dumbledore's first meeting w/ Tom & Tom asking about how to make Horcruxes, all of the background was left out. That's essentially three quarters of the book omitted.

What was the point of not having Tonks find Harry on the train? How can you have Tonks call Remus sweetie and not explain all the drama between them and how they got together? How can you leave out Madam Rosmerta's involvement? What was the point of the burning of the Burrow scene? The ending was horrific. It was completely different than the book. So now Dumbledore is the only one who can apparate on Hogwarts grounds? Malfoy spends all this time working on this cabinet only to have the Death Eaters walk through, Bellatrix (who is not present in the book) encourage him to kill Dumbledore, Snape kills Dumbledore, and they kindly saunter off the grounds in no hurry. No battle... no fear of being caught...nothing. What was the point of the cabinet in the movie? It was completely anti-climatic and they didn't even have the funeral scene which is a must-have. The worst part ever was the very end...Harry and Hermione are talking about Dumbledore's death and going searching for horcruxes and she randomly chimes in that Ron is OK w/ Ginny and Harry. WHAT?! It was so awkward.

And can someone please tell me how they are going to explain Dobby and Kreacher in the Deathly Hallows movies when they have essentially been omitted from the subsequent movies after being introduced? I honestly would like a do-over. They really need to re-shoot this movie and try again because it was bad. For the real fan, it leaves you cold and empty, with no tears for Dumbledore because you are so confused, and wondering why Yates and Co. cared about Lavender being funny more than the back story of Tom Riddle.

2 years ago

All The Least Important Parts of the Book in Movie Form.

6/10 This film has possibly the worst ending of any HP film, and wandered the furthest from the books. If you are a fan of the books, this is for you:

Remember that cool battle at Hogwart's at the end of the book? It's not here. None of it.

Remember the important plot setup with the tiara? Not here.

Remember all the background and memories about Tom Riddle? Not here.

Remember Bill Weasley? Not here.

Remember Bill getting wounded by a certain werewolf? Not here.

Remember Fleur? Not here.

Remember Snape's important parting words to Harry? Not here.

Remember the funeral? Not here.

Remember the touching conversation Harry had with Ginny at the end? Not here.

Remember Scrimgeour? Not here.

Remember the Burrow burning down? No? Oh, because that IS here.

In short, this film is great if all you took out of the book was the romance and funny bits. If you're more invested in the bigger story, you'll be disappointed.